Vers une compréhension de la dépression dans la perspective des femmes: Exploration de la contribution des approches de la recherche qualitative.

Provides an introduction to the special issue of Canadian Psychology on depression in women. "Depression" is recognized as one of the more common mental health problems and also one that is particularly prevalent among women. One major limitation of mainstream theorizing is the taken-for-granted view of depression as a form of internal "psychopathology," a phenomenon which can be understood without regard to sociocultural context. An approach that avoids this limitation is one in which contextual aspects of women's lives are included from the outset by following a research process that begins with the lived experiences of women. A focus on women's experiences also leads to consideration of the contributions of qualitative approaches to research on depression which are compatible with both a feminist standpoint perspective and social constructionist epistemologies. The articles in this special issue are intended to contribute to the development of new knowledge about depression in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mécanisme de formation des couches borurées sur les aciers a haut Carbone—II. Technique des poudres

This article completes the studies on solid phase boridisation of SAE 1095 steel and refers to a powder technique as opposed to the paste technique of the preceding paper (1). The boridising powder was a mixture of boron carbide (B₄C), potassium fluoborate (KBF₄) and silicon carbide (SiC) and the layer formed following a four hour treatment at 900°C with this powder was approximately 100 μm thick. The coincidence of phases obtained in the boridised layer by either of these two techniques which employ quite different boridising agents confirms the generality of the proposed mechanism of formation:

• 1.(i) aluminium, present as a trace component in the boridising powder, is the initiate of boron diffusion, and
• 2.(ii) despite the excess of silicon in the powder, only the silicon present in the steel takes part in the formation of the boridised layer and this silicon is again the major factor in the development of the transition zone.

The considerably lower proportion of the boride FeB formed by the powder technique leads to an absence of cracking due to a decrease in the residual stresses. This represents a major advantage of the powder technique over the paste technique.     

Développement langagier et cognitif de l'enfant durant les trois premières années en relation avec la durée des vocalisations maternelles et les jouets présents dans l'environment: étude longitudinale auprès de populations á risque.

This study compares language and cognitive development of children from different socio-economic backgrounds, during the first three years of their life, in relation to the duration of maternal vocalizations and to the number of toys available to the child in his/her environment. A total of 209 mother–child dyads participated in the study. The sample was divided in three groups of mothers: 65 teenage mothers (aged 14–19 yrs), 91 mothers of low socioeconomic status (LSES; aged 20–37 yrs), and 53 mothers of higher socioeconomic status (HSES; aged 22–37 yrs). Results showed that children of teenage mothers and children of LSES mothers had a language development and a cognitive development inferior to those of children of HSES mothers. The duration of maternal vocalization at 6 and at 18 mo of age was related to measures of child development, particularly to child language development at 18 and 24 mo. Furthermore, the number of linguistic and social toys in the child's environment was correlated with some measures of language and cognitive development. Variability in children's language and cognitive development is related to environmental factors which seem more significant at certain times than others in the child's development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Le r?le des interactions mère-enfant et de la dépression maternelle à l'age préscolaire dans la prédiction de l'attachement de l'enfant à l'age scolaire.

Examined the contribution of mother–child partnership and maternal depression during the preschool period to the prediction of the child's attachment classification at early school-age in 91 French-Canadian children. Mother–child interactions were observed during a collaborative task using a scale measuring synchronized and reciprocal social-affective exchanges in the mother-child partnership (age 3–5 yrs). Maternal depression was assessed during the same lab visit using the Beck Depression Inventory. At a second lab visit (age 5–7 yrs), attachment classifications were assigned on the basis of reunion behaviour. A discriminant function analysis showed that reciprocal mother–child partnerships in the absence of maternal depressive symptom predicted security of attachment two years later, whereas failed reciprocity in the presence of maternal depressive symptoms predicted both insecure disorganized and ambivalent attachment. Quality of prediction is high for secure, ambivalent and disorganized children, although ambivalent and disorganized children cannot be distinguished from each other. Results support the importance of mother–child interactions and maternal depression as preschool variables associated with security and insecurity of attachment at early school-age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Les pratiques parentales des parents d'enfants en difficultés de comportement: Effets de la dyade parent-enfant.

The study set out to indentify the differences and the similarities in the parental practices of mothers and fathers of kindergarten children known to exhibit problem behaviour (n = 109) as it relates to parenting a son or a daughter. The results obtained from self-reported parental measurements and direct observation of the parent–child dyad in a play situation revealed a greater complicity in dyads of the same sex during the play situation and, in opposite sex dyads, a significant link between the expression of negative parental emotions during interactions and problem behaviour in children. In girls, negative interactions with both parents, particularly the hostile disciplinary practices used by the mother, seem to be associated with problem behaviour; in boys, the mother's feeling of inadequacy and the poor quality of the father's presence seem more closely linked with these difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Engagement et persuasion par la peur: Vers une communication engageante dans le domaine de la santé.

Evidence from psychological research has shown the importance of fear on attitude and/or behavior change. The experiment hereby quoted tests the influence of commitment (high vs. low) on an attempt of persuasive message for a forthcoming effect, that is, after reading an antialcohol message to subjects. The idea consists in inducing alcohol consumers toward modifying their attitude and behavioral intentions toward alcohol. As expected, the high committed drinkers (i.e., regular drinkers) resist persuasion (on the level of both attitude and intention). The low committed drinkers (i.e., occasional drinkers) do not resist persuasion but adopt further on a more favorable attitude toward alcohol. The drinkers who had read a strongly threatening, yet at the same time strongly reassuring, message express the strongest intention to reduce their alcohol consumption. Results are described with reference to Witte's (1998) extended parallel process model. A new perspective is presented at the end of our paper, that is, toward a "committing communication." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy for invasive thymomas: a multicentric retrospective review of 90 cases. The FNCLCC trialists. Fédération Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer

PURPOSE: Thymoma is a rare disease. The treatment of patients with invasive thymoma remains controversial. The prognosis of such patients is poor, even with the use of postoperative radiation therapy and chemotherapy. We retrospectively reviewed the outcome and prognostic factors in a series of 90 patients presenting with an invasive thymoma treated by partial resection or biopsy and radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From 1979-1990, 163 patients with the diagnosis of lymphoepithelial thymoma were treated in 10 French cancer centers. Patients were staged using the postoperative "GETT" classification derived from that of Masaoka. Ninety patients who presented with an invasive thymoma, 58 Stage III (21 IIIA: partial resection and 37 IIIB: biopsy) and 32 Stage IVA (intrathoracic thymoma spread), are the subject of this report. Treatment combined surgery and radiation therapy (+/- chemotherapy), with curative intent. Surgery consisted of partial resection in 31 patients (21 Stage III), and biopsy in 55 patients (37 Stage III). The median radiation dose to the tumor was 50 Gy (30-70 Gy). Supraclavicular radiation was performed in 59 patients (median dose 40 Gy). Chemotherapy, combined with radiation in 59 patients, consisted of multidrug regimens, mainly platinum based. RESULTS: The median follow-up is 105 months (20-165 months). The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates are 51 and 39%, respectively. There is a great impact of the extent of surgery on survival: the 5- and 10-year survival rates were 64% and 43%, respectively, after partial resection, compared to 39% and 31% after biopsy (p < 0.02). Local control at 8.5 years was obtained in 59 of 90 patients (66%): 40 Stage III, 19 Stage IVA. There is a significant relationship between the extent of surgery and the local control (16% of relapse after partial resection vs. 45% after biopsy, p < 0.05). Seven patients developed significant (grades 3-4 WHO grading system) treatment-induced side effects. Stage, histologic type, and chemotherapy were not prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: In this large multicentric retrospective study of invasive thymomas (Stage III-IVA) treated by surgery and radiation, results show the importance of loco-regional treatments, such as surgery and radiation therapy. There is also a great impact of radiation on local control. However, the rate of local recurrence (34%) justifies recommending a higher dose of radiation (> 50 Gy) than doses used in this study, for incompletely resected patients. The role of chemotherapy needs to be further assessed.     

HOT study: quality of the blood pressure control after 2 years follow-up. Pour le Groupe fran?ais de l'étude HOT

The objective of the HOT study, an international, prospective, randomised study was to determine the optimal level of the blood pressure under treatment, linked with the lowest cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. The target diastolic blood pressure of 80, 85 and 90 mmHg was determined at the randomisation. In order to reach the target blood pressure, a strategy of treatment was predefined: the 1st step was felodipine (a long acting dihydropyridine) and the next steps (if the blood pressure reduction was not enough) proposed the addition of different therapeutic classes and/or the increase of the doses of each drug. The blood pressure measurements were made, using the oscillometric method (automatic blood pressure measuring device, Hestia). The quality of the blood pressure control observed in the HOT study was verified after 6 months of follow-up ("Quality of the blood pressure control in the clinical practice and in the HOT study", for the French research group of the HOT study. French hypertension meeting, Paris, December 1994). The aim of this second evaluation was to see if the quality of this control was still effective in France and for all countries after 2 years of follow-up. At the inclusion, the mean diastolic blood pressure was 106 +/- 4 mmHg in France (n = 1.574) and 105 +/- 4 mmHg for all countries (n = 18.790). The results at 24 months were the following, according to the target groups: 79.9 for the < or = 80 mmHg target group; 82.1 for the < or = 85 mmHg target and 83.6 for the < or = 90 mmHg target group. The percentages of patients who reached the target blood pressure were respectively 74; 80; 89% for the 3 target groups. The number of antihypertensive treatments needed to reach this blood pressure control slightly increased in the 3 target groups between the first and the second year with a lower rate of monotherapy and a higher rate of bi and tritherapy. But in the 80 mmHg target group (the most strict), the monotherapy was used in more than half of the patients. In comparison with all countries, France had lower number of bi and tritherapies (i.e. in the 85 mmHg target group: 38.4% of bitherapy in France versus 45.6% in all countries). Conclusion: after 2 years of follow-up, the quality of the blood pressure control is still good. There is a trend toward a slight increase in the number of antihypertensive drugs after the first year in the 3 target groups.